Miller's Boys
A fearsome gang of Cattle rustlers, murderers, thieves, highwaymen and other violent scum under the leadership of the charismatic Dalton Miller. They torment the good people of the Cattle Country taking their cattle herd and then running them north of the border and selling them for twice the price. However, run-ins with the law and the Bureau have left them short-handed. History Dalton Miller the son of a drunk and a very loving mother named Shelby, he didn't have many things in his life, they lived in a small ramshackle hut which they rented from the Cattle Baron that owned the plot of land. Money was tight, and they couldn't always make payments, however, this was solved when Shelby offered the rancher special "favors", and in return, he'd overlook the rent due. However, Dalton had anything but a normal childhood he spent most of his days toiling in the vegetable garden of the Baron, cleaning his home or beating off attacks from his drunken father. As he toiled the Baron would never fail to let him know of his social position, always making wisecracks, making fun of his demeanor and of course his mother, whom he called his "Pretty little Whore". All this abuse gave Dalton a deep seeded dislike for the man he was forced to call sir and master, so when he was old enough, he left the ranch and set out to seek his fortune much to the happiness of his mother. While out in the wasteland he traveled Tamaulipas, going as far north as National City and as far south as The Dominion always finding another new adventure to entertain himself, and always honest, fair work to keep food on the table and the Baron away from his mother. It was while he was in the haunted Highlands that he met his friend and later partner in crime Jesus Dominguez, Jesus was a slightly overweight but very friendly and jovial man traveling the wastes selling miracle elixirs and spirits to the short witted mountain folk. However, he and Dalton instantly took a liking to one another and Dalton soon became essential in the operations of Jesus' elixir company, being "A part of the act" as Jesus liked to put it. They went throughout The Highlands and war-torn Distrito Capital selling Jesus' elixirs and while they were in the tenement known as Pisos Rotos selling their elixirs to the local gangster a runner from the Cattle Country approached them with the news that his mother had died. The Baron, having gotten roaring drunk, had gone into their home demanding a "favor" from the poor woman, when she refused to give in he beat her to death. Enraged by this news, he took one of Jesus' horses and set off for his childhood home, with Jesus close behind. Dalton arrived several days later and burst into the Baron's home, at once the Baron's men attempted to remove him from the home but with the flick of his hand, he gunned them both down with his revolver. He walked through the house shooting his way past guard after guard until finally, he found the Baron and his family locked in their bedroom. He tried to trade his life to save his family's but there was no room for mercy in Dalton's rage-filled heart, and he gunned down the Baron, his wife, and three children, leaving the house in blood-spattered silence. When Jesus arrived several hours later, he was appalled by what his friend had done but realizing that he had been in a fit of rage he quickly ushered him out the door and off to a hiding in his wagon. They traveled far and wide and eventually found the old fort of San Xavier. The fort itself was partially collapsed and partially hung over the edge of a large mesa it's built atop of. The fort was stuffed full of ruffians all of whom looked upon the small wagon full of elixirs and Dalton as easy prey for robbing, and that is exactly what they attempted. The two parked their wagon and headed into the small fort for some drinks, instead, they were encountered by the chieftain of the town; El Jefe. El Jefe demanded that they hand over all their money as an entrance fee and most of Jesus' supply for collateral. Dalton flatly refused and so did Jesus, at this all across the small town the people began to close the windows on their homes the bar suddenly closed as the whole town fell silent. Dalton and Jesus drew first and in the first minute of the gun battle three of El Jefe's men fell dead and the rest along with El Jefe retreated into the town. Fighting among the buildings and rooftops in one of the most cramped and vertical gun battles they would ever involve themselves in Dalton and Jesus won the contest of marksmanship and won control of the town as El Jefe fell dead. The two, now the rulers of the fort began to look over their domain it was, for the most part, a small, poor community with only a few dozen residents that appeared to be permanent, however, the place due to its positioning along the edge of the mesa was easily defendable even with what few light weapons the townsfolk had at their disposal. As they patrolled the fort, they noticed a small opening in the base of one of the ruined buildings, exploring it further they found it led to a series of narrow tunnels that opened up to an opening hidden among the rocks set into the wall of a ravine. Intrigued they asked the townsfolk about the area, they told them that back when the Bureau had used the ravine as a spot for labor gangs to punish small-time convicts, the banditos in the fort would have the convicts smuggle drugs to buyers within the massive prison of El Barranco de Diablo. They would smuggle the narcotics through the tunnels to the convicts below. Wondering how it could be used, they began to plan their life of crime. They made the plan to steal some cattle from the Baron's ranch and smuggle them through the tunnels and down into the ravine until they would line up a buyer. That next night Dalton and Jesus set off to raid the Baron's ranch, as they arrived they found the house crawling with members of the Bureau, trying to take count of all the Baron's possessions and take account for his herds. Dalton and Jesus quickly slipped past the Bureau men and into the massive pasture that served the Baron's herd. They quickly roped a few dozen of the Brahmin, and as Jesus guided them, Dalton stayed at the tail end of the herd, keeping everyone in line. They eventually corraled them back to the Fort San Xavier and moving them one at a time with the help of the locals they slipped them down into the ravine where they were to stay for three weeks until Dalton lined up a buyer up north in the region known as the Blackfields. Thus started the series of crimes to be performed by the gang. Their numbers grew thus so did their ambition, as they went from a dozen head to whole herds, running fifty plus heads through the tunnels and down into the ravine, their gang soon included well over 50 members including the future legend Tom Harris. Their operations were smooth and precise, Jesus would stop by a ranch selling his elixirs and scout out the area for guards, cattle pens and any other signs of trouble. Then that next night Dalton would lead his men to the ranch and take the cattle. The best part was they were close to uncatchable much to the chagrin of the Bureau and the various other Anti-Rustling and crime organizations that dotted the Cattle Country. However, like all good criminals, their reign must come to an end after Jesus had reported his findings on a lightly defended ranch the gang rolled in 123 strong. Only to find that the Bureau had set up an ambush, machine guns opened up as they headed for the corral, the gang was cut down as they went with only 19 men escaping the ambush alive. The Bureau gave chase but gave up when they realized they were headed back towards Fort San Xavier. For the next six weeks, they watched as the Bureau discovered their hiding place and tunnel (which they were forced to destroy), and surrounded the fort below. However, after weeks of waiting out the gang the Bureau left, off to take care of responsibilities elsewhere. For Dalton and Jesus, their gang was destroyed along with the system they ran it. However, they refused to give up and soon had rebuilt their numbers to 75 banditos and set off once again to raid and pillage the countryside. Notable Raids *'The Great Mexican Train Robbery'- One method of transportation that many Cattle Barons like to use to move their herds about the Cattle Country, using the old rail system put in place before the war this has proven to be a very viable and intelligent option for moving large herds safely and securely. With the Bureau taking huge strides in helping to regulate and control rail traffic the rails soon seemed like the best means of transporting cattle, however, Dalton and Jesus set to change that. Along a new track only recently laid by the Bureau, there was a train reported to be moving through carrying a huge herd of cattle and due to the tracks youth the Bureau thought the likelihood of an ambush was very slim. However Dalton and his banditos set up around the track and used charges to blow the rails, they then rushed the train killing the few men who resisted, then carrying off the rest of the herd to Fort San Xavier. It proved to be the biggest single disaster ever to occur on the rails and led to the collapse of at least three cattle firms and the Bureau creating the policy of always having armed guards aboard trains moving about Tamaulipas. *'The Chophouse'- The Chophouse as the town is known is basically the biggest butcher/slaughterhouse in all of the Cattle Country. For miles, ranchers would come driving their herds to the Chophouse and would promptly have the Chophouse turn the Brahmin into nice steaks, ribs and other cuts for sale to individual buyers. Usually this was done small time and thus, the herds that were driven to the Chophouse were pretty tiny however Dalton thought this would be the exact place to strike a good head of cattle. Thus, they scouted the place out with the usual Jesus selling his elixirs while the rest of the gang waited when the herds came in they pounced seizing the cattle they were about to leave when one of the lawmen came out of the Chophouse. He was all excited about what was going on on the inside of the Chophouse and when they entered the place they found people, men, women and children all chained to the floor, they were so thin they looked like skeletons. Dalton ordered that the people be freed, and as they got the people freed from their bonds they shot their way past the guards and set the place aflame watching as it burned down in the background. *'The Iron Giant'- Rustling has taken Dalton, Jesus, and his gang to several unique locations and places, they've seen talking deathclaws and even the thought to be extinct Wanamingos wandering the wastes. However, nothing has ever been encountered by the gang quite like the "Iron Giant" as they called it. They were outside the town of New Columbus where they encountered the mythical machine known as the Iron Giant. After finishing a successful raid on the local Cattle Baron's ranch and having made off with plenty of cattle to cover their expenses for awhile they camped out for the night, nodding off to sleep. They awoke to a tremendous rumbling and found themselves staring down a massive robot marching through the wastes, taller than any pre-war skyscraper and with two glowing eyes the massive machine proceeded to open fire on the herd of cattle as it marched through the fields. The scared gang made the mistake of shooting at it, the giant responded by returning the fire with massive bolts of plasma. The countryside exploded as the gang ran, rode and drove for their lives. After about a half-mile the giant seemed to lose interest and marched off in another direction, the gang went back and collected the few remaining brahmin and left. Beliefs Miller enforces a very rigid set of morals within his gang these include the belief that no one except those that attack them should be killed, no unnecessary killing, they only steal from the rich, corrupt Cattle Barons and leave the smaller ranchers to tend to their flocks. Respect your enemies, one thing that Dalton stresses that if you don't see your enemy as an equal then you will never defeat them, other beliefs include that you never kill a wounded man unless it was to put him/her out of their misery, help the needy and never be afraid to give to a beggar, fight oppression and serve the oppressed, never harm the clergy unless for special reasons. With these beliefs and morals, Dalton and Jesus led the gang on their rustling streak around Tamaulipas. Category:Tamaulipas Category:Mexico Category:Groups Category:Raiders